Lithuania

Tax residency

Under Article 4 of the Law on Personal Income Tax (GPMĮ), an individual may be considered a permanent resident of Lithuania (nuolatinis Lietuvos gyventojas). According to the official commentary of the State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija, VMI), the residence criteria are considered successively.

These criteria are therefore considered successively, rather than being five independent tests applied in parallel.

• Permanent place of residence: an individual is considered a Lithuanian tax resident where their permanent place of residence (nuolatinė gyvenamoji vieta) is in Lithuania during the tax period. The tax period is the calendar year. VMI explains this as any place suitable for living, such as a house, apartment or room, that the individual establishes, maintains and uses for permanent or predominant living, rather than only staying there temporarily, for example for holidays, a business trip or studies. The place may be owned or rented. If an individual has a place of residence both in Lithuania and abroad during the calendar year, the permanent place of residence is the place where the individual actually lived for most of that year.
• Centre of personal, social or economic interests: if the individual does not have a permanent place of residence in Lithuania, the next criterion is whether their personal, social or economic interests are situated more in Lithuania than abroad during the tax period. VMI assesses the overall circumstances, including the location of assets and income sources, employment or other activities, the family's permanent residence, family relationships and citizenship.
• 183-day rule: if the individual does not have a permanent place of residence in Lithuania and their personal, social and economic interests are situated more abroad, the next criterion is physical presence in Lithuania for 183 days or more during the calendar year. The presence may be continuous or with breaks.
• 280/90-day rule: if the individual has spent fewer than 183 days in Lithuania during the calendar year, the next criterion is whether they were present in Lithuania for 280 days or more over two consecutive calendar years, with at least 90 days in one of those years.
• Lithuanian citizen employed or maintained by the State abroad: a Lithuanian citizen who does not meet the 183-day or 280/90-day criteria may nevertheless be treated as a Lithuanian tax resident where remuneration under an employment or equivalent arrangement is paid from the Lithuanian State budget, or their living expenses abroad are covered from the Lithuanian State or municipal budgets.

Departure from Lithuania

A special rule applies to an individual who has been a Lithuanian permanent resident for at least three consecutive tax periods and then finally leaves Lithuania. If the individual spends fewer than 183 days in Lithuania during the departure year, they remain a Lithuanian permanent resident until the date of departure, provided that the departure qualifies as final under the applicable rules.

Where the individual finally leaves Lithuania for a target territory, meaning a jurisdiction included in the list of target territories approved by the Lithuanian Minister of Finance, additional rules may apply. Where the statutory conditions concerning significant commercial interests in Lithuania are met, the individual may remain a Lithuanian tax resident for the departure year and the following two tax periods. Significant commercial interests include, among other cases, owning a Lithuanian individual enterprise, holding more than 25% of a Lithuanian entity, or deriving more than 30% of income from Lithuanian sources.

Day counting

• Permanent place of residence: this is not a day-count test. The relevant question is whether the individual's permanent place of residence is in Lithuania during the calendar-year tax period.
• Centre of personal, social or economic interests: this is not a day-count test. The assessment is based on the overall location of the individual's personal, social and economic interests.
• 183-day rule: the individual must be present in Lithuania for 183 days or more during the calendar year, whether continuously or with breaks. For the statutory calculation, the day of arrival and the day of departure are included. All days spent in Lithuania are counted, including working days, weekends, public holidays and holidays spent in Lithuania. Certain periods are excluded, including specified periods during which the person could not leave Lithuania because of the illness or death of the individual, spouse or minor child, subject to the statutory conditions. Transit through Lithuania of no more than 48 hours is also excluded.
• 280/90-day rule: the individual must be present in Lithuania for 280 days or more across two consecutive calendar years, with at least 90 days in one of those years. The 90- and 280-day periods are calculated in the same manner as the 183-day period. Accordingly, the same rules regarding arrival and departure days and included or excluded periods apply.
• Lithuanian citizen employed or maintained by the State abroad: this criterion does not contain a separate day-count threshold. It applies according to the specific statutory conditions described above.

Tax consequences

Lithuanian tax residents are generally subject to Lithuanian personal income tax on worldwide income, subject to applicable exemptions, reliefs and tax treaties. Non-residents are generally subject to Lithuanian tax on Lithuanian-source income under domestic law and applicable treaties.

Migration / EU residence

EU/EEA and Swiss nationals benefit from EU free-movement rules. For longer stays, registration or other residence formalities may apply. Third-country nationals generally require the appropriate visa and/or residence permit, depending on the purpose and duration of their stay. Holding a Lithuanian residence permit does not by itself determine tax residence.

Orientation references

• Law on Personal Income Tax (GPMĮ), Article 4, statutory criteria for permanent Lithuanian tax residence.
• State Tax Inspectorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija, VMI), official commentary to Article 4 “Nuolatinis Lietuvos gyventojas”
• Lithuanian immigration / EU free-movement framework